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Istanbul – cultural encounters, monuments and identity between East and West – 15 ECTS

This course covers cultural encounters of all kinds, with a focus on Istanbul – from the Byzantine and Ottoman period until today.

First and foremost is this course for humanities, social sciences and theology scholars, but anyone with an undergraduate degree and an interest in the global cultural heritage is welcome to attend.

This course provides a reflective view of who was using the material culture, which claimed they had, and what you wanted to say with various monuments. During the course dealt with literature, music, art, environments and architecture from different traditions of knowledge and different times. The course provides a background to the Istanbul exchange’s rich history and religious conditions. The course includes field trips related to Turkish collections in Sweden to include the Museum and the Nordic Museum.

The first two weeks of instruction provided in Sweden. This is followed by a week in Istanbul itself. During the course, a project will be finished, as addressed in the seminars during a final week in Sweden. Teachers supervise and help with content, theory, methodology and practical solutions. In Istanbul is taught partly in the form of field work through the study of environments, buildings and art. Duration is located in Turkey, organized in collaboration with the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul.

Istanbul – a city of cultural encounters

A city with a long history can be said to be a product of their memories. The memories appear physically in the house, places, statues and artwork that has survived invasions, ideological turmoil and the ravages of time. We must seize these physical memories actively to reach the historical knowledge. Istanbul will serve as a case study for the course. For a long time Istanbul (Constantinople), the largest and most important metropolis in the eastern Mediterranean region. Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk describes Istanbul in “Black Book” which closed and dark – but that the city is read by the curious viewer.

We will read the city, and moving frequently in Istanbul: in mosques, churches, palaces, museums but also in everyday environments at bazaars, squares and streets. We shall explore the city with different glasses: northerner’s view of the “Oriental”, walkers desintresserade glance, the researcher’s objective examination, the Turks’ views on the West.

Ansök via: Uppsala University (NB! Read below for more information about the application)

We need (for ALL) a written application of no more than one A4 page, where you specify how the course is in harmony with your other studies, why you personally want to search, what you expect of the course, and something about your past Higher Education. Do not forget your name, address, institution, e-mail, and first part of the social security number. Applications should be sent to: Department of Art History, The Secretariat, PO Box 630, SE-751 26 Uppsala, Sweden, before 15 October. Postmark and late applications will be rejected.

“Undervisningen var väldigt bra och välorganiserad.”

"The teaching was very good and well organized"

The best thing about the course is the excursion in Istanbul, to be able to visit various museums, take city tours, see the different "layers" of the city and experience the cultures in Istanbul of today. You can adapt your perspectives in a completely different manner when you are on site than when you just read about it.

I've learned how to use a location, a starting point and attack from different angels. Istanbul has a very long and loaded history. It is the place where Europe and Asia, you have the East and the West, Christianity meets Islam. In this course you get the tools on how to relate to other locations. I think that I have learned, in addition to everything I've learned about the city itself.

The teaching was very good and well organized. The interdisciplinary approach was not only adapted by the students but also by the teachers. They came from different universities in Sweden, and in Turkey, and they came from various disciplines. That gave insight on different perspectives on Turkey, both today and historically.

I would definitely recommend others to take the course. It addresses current issues and presents a very interesting section in a general history and how to challenge the historiography. If you have any kind of interest on Orientalism and postcolonial studies, art and architectural history and urban history, then I think you should attend this course.